Coronavirus Updates: March 20, 2020

NOTE: This blog post is over one year old. Information may be out of date.

USCIS Temporarily Suspends Premium Processing

US Citizenship & Immigration Services announced today that they have immediately suspended premium processing services for all Form I-129 and Form I-140 petitions until further notice due to Coronavirus Disease. USCIS will reject the I-901 and return the $1440 filing fee for all petitions requesting premium processing that were mailed before March 20 but not yet accepted. Petitioners who have already filed Form I-129 or Form I-140 using the premium processing service and who receive no agency action on their case within the 15-day period will receive a refund.

Signature Flexibility During COVID-19 National Emergency

USCIS announced that they will now accept all benefit forms and documents with reproduced original signatures for submissions dated March 21, 2020 and beyond due to the ongoing National Emergency. This means that a document may be scanned, faxed, photocopied, or similarly reproduced provided that the copy is of an original document containing an original handwritten signature. This temporary change only applies to signatures. All other form instructions should be followed.

Temporary Restriction of Non-Essential Travel Across Borders

DHS released two joint statements announcing that they are restricting non-essential travel across the US-Mexico and US-Canada land borders. The restrictions will be implemented on March 21, 2020 and will be in place for 30 days, at which point they will be reviewed by all parties. According to the statements, “non-essential” travel includes travel that is considered tourism or recreational in nature.

Suspension of Routine Visa Services

DOS is suspending routine visa services at all US embassies and consulates in response to COVID-19. All routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments have been cancelled as of March 20, 2020. Applicants with an urgent matter and need to travel immediately should follow the guidance provided at the Embassy’s website to request an emergency appointment.